Podcast Episodes

Rocky Aoki: Hibachi’s a Bitch and Then You Die

Episode 163

Rocky Aoki, the son of a vaudeville performer and a tango dancer, grows up in the wreckage of post-war Tokyo. With his natural flair for entertainment, he opens his first Benihana restaurant in Manha…

Published on 3 months ago

Multi-Level Marketing: Your Product is You

Episode 162

Multi-level marketing businesses like Mary Kay, HerbaLife, and Amway are so ubiquitous, it's almost hard to imagine where they started or how deep their influence goes. In this special episode of Sca…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Wondery Presents: How to Survive Against the Odds

Inspired by Wondery’s hit podcast Against the Odds—learn how to survive whatever nature can throw at you through gut-twisting true stories of survival on the brink

How to Survive Against the Odds plac…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

ENCORE: Do You Even Grift, Bro?

Episode 161

We’ll be back next week with all-new episodes, but in the meantime, we thought it was the perfect time to revisit our grossest-ever Scamfluencer: Brian Johnson, aka The Liver King. Brian grows up a s…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

ENCORE: The Memory Maker Part 2

Episode 160

Teal Swan’s self-help empire is on the rise, and so is the backlash to some of her most controversial techniques. Teal fights back against her critics, releasing long rebuttals and detailed explainer…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

ENCORE: The Memory Maker Part 1

Episode 159

We’ll be back in two weeks with all-new Scamfluencers episodes. In the meantime, we’re returning to one of our favorites. 

After surviving a difficult childhood, Teal Swan starts a family and reinvent…

Published on 4 months ago

Paul and Patricia Bragg: The Mother of All Wellness Scams

Episode 158

Paul Bragg used showmanship and outrageous claims to grow his health food company into a wellness empire. But after he died in his 90s and passed the company to his daughter, Patricia, people started…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

Michael Milken: When Junk Was King

Episode 157

Michael Milken is known as the King of Junk Bonds. In the early 80s, he pioneered a novel way to finance companies that traditional investors normally wouldn’t touch. His high-risk, high-reward inves…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

Francois-Marie Banier: The French Connection Part 2

Episode 156

Francois-Marie Banier is facing an uphill battle in French courts when he learns he’s being sued by Liliane Bettencourt’s only daughter, Francoise. When the French media learn of the accusations of f…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Francois-Marie Banier: The French Connection Part 1

Episode 155

Francois-Marie Banier overcame indifferent parents to reach the heights of the Parisian art scene. His novels, plays, and photography gained him famous friends like Salvadore Dali, Princess Caroline …

Published on 5 months ago